Berbice to get $90M aquaculture farm, processing facility

With the aim of broadening the scope of Guyana’s aquaculture sector nationwide, a state-of-the-art $90 million aquaculture farm, and an on-site processing facility will be constructed in Borlam, Corentyne, Berbice.

This undertaking will significantly add to the plethora of measures being implemented in the country to position Guyana as a leader in food security even beyond the region.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the project is anticipated to increase the region’s brackish water production and comprises 1,000 acres of land.

According to a recent EPA release the farm operations are located away from residential areas, while the processing facility will be located within the boundaries of the existing operations, away from residential areas.

This will minimise the negative impacts that may be caused by the generation of noise, dust, and unpleasant odours. The farm has been designed to facilitate the brackish water aquaculture of fish and shrimp.

This venture will provide valuable employment opportunities for many in the region. Apart from that, the farm will also buy fish and shrimp products from other brackish water farms in the area.

Over 100 small brackish water shrimp farms are available along the Corentyne Coast.

Meanwhile, the on-site processing facility will provide various opportunities including the packaging and distribution of the products, and those of other local farms to markets in Guyana, the Caribbean, and internationally.

The shrimp identified to be exported will undergo on-site cleaning and processing.

The cleaning and packaging process will also utilise fresh water for washing and the ideal-sized shrimp would be easier to handle thus eliminating the necessity to utilise table salt.

The government is aggressively working to have a project of this magnitude to be replicated in other parts of the country.

Guyana is heavily dependent on the fishing industry, both as a source of protein for local consumption and as a source of revenue from exports.

It adds $11.9 billion to Guyana’s annual exports, or around six per cent of the country’s overall export earnings.

The sum of $443.9 million was budgeted to regulate and support the development of the fishing sector.